This feels like a dull subject – 1,330 words about how I made my dinner – but the theme of this blog is tackling the challenges that chronic illness presents in everyday life and cooking is one of those things that has become trickier. Though there are ways of making it easier. I wanted to… Continue reading Cooking on a bad day
Avoiding an avalanche: keeping track without being overwhelmed
Sluff is the cloud of moving snow you see behind someone skiing or snowboarding down a steep slope. I recently re-read a post by Inger Mewburn (The Thesis Whisperer) where she uses ‘sluff’ as a metaphor for the mass of notes and memos we accumulate to keep track of what we thought or did. In… Continue reading Avoiding an avalanche: keeping track without being overwhelmed
Book Review: The Compassionate Mind Approach to Beating Overeating by Ken Goss
The Compassionate Mind Approach to Beating Overeating by Ken Goss This is not another diet book, although it will help you find ways to manage your food intake and energy output that are more in tune with your body’s needs. Instead, it offers you a different approach to learning to live in a complex body,… Continue reading Book Review: The Compassionate Mind Approach to Beating Overeating by Ken Goss
Impossible to-do lists: why magical thinking isn’t a solution.
A few weeks ago I visited my friend at the allotments. Covid restrictions prevent meeting indoors. That, together with Manchester’s weather meant it could be a while before we would catch up again. This could be the last warm day of the year, and a welcome opportunity for a good conversation. The leaves on the… Continue reading Impossible to-do lists: why magical thinking isn’t a solution.
Why I stopped writing for almost a year
This is the first thing I’ve uploaded in almost a year. Before anything else, I want to explain my absence. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be a very cheerful post. I was having a very difficult time at the end of last year which is when I stopped writing. I think 2020 has been a… Continue reading Why I stopped writing for almost a year
Small victory #7
Collected my prescription from the chemist
Coping with difficult emotions during a setback
I find flare-ups and setbacks very frustrating, and emotionally difficult. I’d be surprised if that isn’t normal for people with chronic illness. All the worst emotions tend to surface. And it’s even harder than usual to fend off self-doubt and self -criticism because I’m tired and sore and cross. There are two phrases that have… Continue reading Coping with difficult emotions during a setback
A work in progress…
I have started a longer post about relapses, flare-ups and setbacks. But due to the flare-up/set back I’ve been having I couldn’t make progress on it in the way I had intended. My idea was to write about flare-ups and setbacks as I worked through my own. I thought I’d go over the resources and… Continue reading A work in progress…
Small Victories #6
Made a difficult phone call and took a walk. Took a humungous effort to actually do each of them. Actually the phone call wasn’t difficult at all. I’d just convinced myself it would be.
Small Victories #5
Left the House I haven’t left the house for a few days and only occasionally in the last few weeks. I’m supposed to do something energetic (or th closest I get) outside every day for both my physical and mental health. Today I joined my partner and friend for their afternoon drinks. I didn’t feel… Continue reading Small Victories #5